A Family Affair
Though it feels much older, Cave Canem (CC) celebrated its 10th anniversary this past weekend. Founded in 1996 by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, CC has become a home for emerging and established black poets in search of both representation and communion. Through the program's week-long summer retreat, regional workshops, and annual book prize, CC has maintained its "commit[ment] to the discovery and cultivation of new voices in African-American poetry." Such voices ushered in a memorable, four-day event in New York City.
Hosted by Sonia Sanchez, past winners, such as: Major Jackson, Tracy K. Smith, and Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, read work from their award-winning books. Sanchez said in her introduction, "We never asked them to be like us, we simply asked them to be good poets." And they are--distinctive and amazing.
The gathering was not unlike a family reunion. Everyone was invited, and they all showed up. We may not have known one another, but we were all connected. Not by degrees of separation, but by an immaterial force and a mutual love of poeting. Notable kinfolk/poets who came through included Elizabeth Alexander, Tyehimba Jess, Lucille Clifton, Yusef Komunyakaa, Nikky Finney, Walter Mosley, and Al Young.
Upcoming Cave Canem events include a 26 October reading with Patricia Spears Jones at McNally-Robinson Booksellers and Derek Walcott with Elizabeth Alexander at The New School on 2 December. Both events are in New York City.
25 October 2006